Flying machine with beating and sliding horizontal louver-like wings rotating in opposite directions



Jan. 22,A LS35. 4

FIHING MACHINE WITH BEATING AND LIKE wINGs G. A. PROSDOCIMI IROTATINGl INV Filed Nov. 4, 1952 y 1,988,916 sLIDING HORIZONTAL LoUvER OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS 3 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 22, 1935. G. A. PRosDoclMl 1,988,916

FLYING MACHINE WITH BEATING AND SLIDING HORlZONTAL LOUVER LIKE WINGS ROTATING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 4, 1952 Jan. 22, 1935. G. A. PRosDoclMl 1,988,916

FLYING MACHINE WITH BEATING AND SLIDING HORIZONTAL LOUVER LIKE WINGS vROTATING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS Filed NOV. 4, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 united together and operate simultaneously so as Patented `Fan.. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLYING MACHINE WITH BEATING AND SLIDING HORIZONTAL LOUVER-LIKE WINGS ROTATING IN OPPOSITE DIREC- TIONS Giuseppe Andrea Prosdocimi, Bologna, Italy Application November 4, 1932, Serial No. 641,30

In Italy August 6, 1932 (Cl. 244-20) 1 Claim.

to provide for stable navigation of the machine, as will be described hereinafter with reference to the annexed drawings, in which:

Fig. l shows a detail of one of the supportin planes seen from above. v

Figs. 2 and 3 are right and left hand elevations, respectively, of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a section of a plane the movable elements of which are open at one side and closed at the other side,

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view of details of devices .which impart opposite rotation to the supporting planes,

Fig. 6 is a detail view on a larger scale of a support arm for the cams provided with a magnet for shifting the cams which control the spreading and folding of the movable members, and 1 Figs. 7 and 8 show diagrammaticaltotal plan and side views of a machine provided with a fixed auxiliary plane.

The supporting planes comprise a `front edge 1 and a rear edge 2 between which operate movable cross members or vanes 3 keyed on axes passing through their middle line and forming the frame of the plane so that the said elements or vanes are opened or spread when the planes rise so as to let the air pass through the planes, and closed or folded when the planes descend, thus opposing the necessary resistance of bearing and lifting.

The planes thus constructed form a rigid front zone A having the function to bear on the air when descending, as above described, and a flexible rear zone B bending under the resistance action of air which during therotation ofthe plane acts as a propeller screw. f The spreading and folding of the louver-like elements or vanes 3 may be obtained for instance, by cams 4, Fig'. 4, causing the opening and closing of vanes 3 by contact wheels 5 fixed to the inner terminal vanes. 'I'he said vanes are connected together 'by rods 6 loosely connected to hinges 7 which are xed to the vanes, the said rods being connected to elastic reaction members 8 for restoring the elements to closing or foldingposition (Figs. l and 4).

The apparatus or machine may comprise one or more pairs of oppositely rotating planes or wings, as is particularly shown in Fig. 5 where oposite rotation is imparted by two driving stubshafts 9 and 10 (through a common motor and appropriate reversing gear, not shown) so that stub-shaft 9 rotates to the left, and stub-shaft 10 to the right.

The said shafts 9 and l0 carry at their remote outer ends heads 11 and 12 which respectively support .the outer ends of two sleeves 13 and 14 which rotate in the rotary direction imparted to them by the respective stub-shafts so that sleeve 13 will carry along with it the plane I, and sleeve 14 will carry plane IV in the opposite direction.

As however'sleeve 13 is fixed at its opposite end to the crown 15 of the left hand differential gear, and sleeve 14 is fixed at its opposite end to crown 16 of the right hand differential gea/r, crowns 15 and 16 will rotate in unison with the sleeves and planes described and, of course, in opposite directions to each other.

Crown 15 being in engagement through satellites 1'7 and 18 with crown 19 the latter will be compelled to rotate simultaneously with, but in an opposite direction to, crown 15, and consequently plane II, xed to crown 19, also will rotate in a direction opposite to crown 15 and plane I.

Similarly, as crown 16 through the satellites 20 and 21 engages crown 22` the latter will rotate simultaneously with, but inversely to, crown 16. But as sleeve 23 is fixed to the crown 22 and plane III is fixed to the sleeve 23 the latter plane together with its sleeve 23 and the crown 22 will rotate in a direction opposite to crown 16.

It is clearly shown that planes I and IV rotate in opposite directions to each other, and as plane 1I rotates inversely'to plane I, and plane III inversely to plane IV,-it also follows that planes II and III will rotate in opposite directions with respect to each other.

From the above it is obvious that sleeves 13, 14 and 23 rotate about an elongated tubular casing 24 of the driving shafts on ball bearings Cams 4 which cause vanes 3 to spread and'fold are loosely mounted on sleeves 13, 14 and 23 and their supports are mounted on ball bearings 26 to remove friction and facilitate horizontal sliding.

Said cams 4 are kept in place by arms 27 keyed to the outer ends of axes of the satellites of the.

differential gears and to the right hand post 28 which connects the planes to the kelson.

Cam 4' which controls opening and closing of plane II is keyed to the casing 24 as at 24' so as direction.

Cams 4 in their longitudinal movements for disengagement from contact rollers are operated by common magnets 29 which on being operated cause ends 30 of arms 2'7 t'o re-enter, and in the same way extension 31 of cam 4' is operated, Figs. 5 and 6.

In order to lock the planes in their horizontal position the pilot uses a lever system 32, 33 and 34 controlling a frictional clutch 35 which gradually engages the corresponding part 36 rigid with the edge 1 of plane II, and simultaneously disengages by electric control the cams from contact rollers 5 so that all of the vanes 3 are closed.

As shown diagrammatically in Figs. 'I and 8, the machine may be provided with a fixed supporting plane 37 also comprising movable longitudinal elements or vanes 3 capable of being automatically opened and closed by the pressure of the air, the said plane being fixed to a common keelson 38 between the rotating planes.

The said fixed supporting plane forms an auxiliary support in gliding night especially on the rotating planes restarting rotation.

'Therefore during the rise of the machine the vanes will spread so as not to offer resistance, whilst in descent they will remain closed or folded.

-It is obvious that the electric energy for the magnets will be supplied by the motor or storage batteries, the machine being provided with complete flttings necessary for navigation.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

A flying machine of the character described including four horizontal movable louver-like wings vertically rotating in opposite directions and arranged in pairs, two stub-'shafts inversely rotating and constituting the sole longitudinal axis support of-the wings and including an elongated tubular casing,A two groups of differential crowns on the stub shafts and coupling the adjacent pairs of wings together; said differential crowns including satellites, the outside crowns being fixed each to its respective stub shaft, the inside crowns on the contrary being loose on the vcasing and inversely turning with respect to each other as well as to the crowns associated with them, the satellites of the inside crowns transmitting to these crowns the motion transmitted by the outside crowns fixed to the stub shafts inversely rotating with respect to each other, fixed as they are to the casing and xed to the crowns by means of a differential gear, pivots inside the casing on which three of the satellites are rotatable, and speed gears engaged with the motor I source for the fourth satellite. 

